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The Hunt for Winter

Published February 22, 2012 Photography , Travels 2 Comments
Tags: photography, travel, night photography, stars, Ontario, Northern Lights, aurora, parry sound

This is the winter that wasn’t. At least, here in TO it wasn’t. We’re not used to this total lack of winter and last weekend Tito and I drove out in search of ice and snow because, dammit, we miss it. We ended up heading north into Parry Sound – as a bonus the northern lights made a surprise appearance!

We passed a frozen lake covered in skidoo tracks. It reminded me of a cute story my dad told me about coming to Canada in 1972. He had worked in India as a motorcycle repairman, so when he moved to Ottawa he looked for the same kind of work. Finally he got his first job in Canada. He showed up on his first day and they took him to his first job and it was … a skidoo. He stared blankly at it for a few minutes before looking at his boss and saying “What the %@!* is that?”. The story always makes me laugh :)

What a great day for a road trip, the sky was that endless sort of blue that you feel you could fall up into.

At blue hour I took this shot – the 2 bright things in the sky are Venus (the lower one) and Jupiter.

We went northern light hunting at night without much hope of success – but then there they were. I remind myself that sometimes the shot you want happens when you least expect it. They were faint, true, and visible to the camera more than to our eyes, but they were there. This was a 15 minute long exposure.

This was a 20 minute long exposure, and yes we were cold ;) but it was worth it. The angle of everything was so perfect, I was able to get the tilt of the stars and the northern light glow into one shot. Reason enough to stand freezing out in the middle of the night. At least for crazy people. And photographers.

Then we did some star photography. Did I say we? My bad, I meant I. Tito, being more practical than me, was staying warm in the car ;)

What a perfect, clear night it was! This was all done just off the 400, north of a small town called Nobel, on a side road. The night sky was just stunning.

Thank you Tito – for doing all the driving and getting me out of town when I really needed it :) The star photography was just the icing on a really great day !

Inspira Jewellery – Lake Quidi Vidi, Newfoundland

Published February 15, 2012 Inspira , Jewelry , Travels 1 Comment
Tags: bracelet, Canada, handmade, inspira, jewellery, newfoundland, Swarovski

In the tradition of my other Inspira pieces I’ve created a bracelet inspired by the Lake of Quidi Vidi in St. Johns, Newfoundland:

Tito and I shot the lake during the blue hour. It was a very serene spot. I love the deep blues and the reflections in the water.

The Quidi Vidi bracelet was created using chocolate Japanese delicas, sterling silver bead caps, ocean blue Swarovski crystals and quartz crystal stones.

Western Canada is breathtaking – but give me the East Coast any day, that is where my heart lives :)

Camera review: Fuji FinePix XP30

Published February 8, 2012 Photography , Travels Leave a Comment
Tags: Fuji FinePix XP30, photography, product review, travel, underwater

Last Christmas I bought my mom a digital camera for our vacation. Because I knew there would be snorkelling trips, I chose the waterproof Fuji FinePix XP30. I chose it because I bought the XP10 before going to Hawaii, and for such an affordable little camera I was pleased with the results.

The idea of snorkelling without being able to take pictures was a horrible thought to me, but the waterproof casing for my 7D was, the last I checked, completely beyond my finances (>4000 ish). By comparison I bought my mom the XP30 for about $150 Canadian.

The little camera is dust proof, shock proof and apparently freeze proof, in addition to being waterproof up to 10 feet. It takes pretty decent photos above water as well – here is a pic of a little hermit crab that we intruded upon.

The main problem I found with the underwater photos is the strong green tint, but you can see that I’ve fixed that with a little tinkering on a levels adjustment layer. A little work in photoshop produces a dramatic effect. Without it though, the photos are pretty green and the bright colour of sea creatures are muted.

The camera can certainly take a beating. We dropped ours, soaked it and left it in the sun for a while and it took it all in stride.

The main area on this camera that I couldn’t groove on is the underwater video. The sound of the motor in the camera when you zoom in and out is very loud in the video. The zoom quality is not great and the video is harder to colour correct than the photos are. However, for the price, and the fact that underwater video is tough for many reasons (stability, white balance etc.) I’d say it’s pretty good value for the price.

These photos were taken in Hawaii with the camera’s predecessor, the XP 10 – you can see the shots are gorgeous, albeit not very high res.

All in all I’d recommend this little guy. Mom had a blast with it, and so did we!

Can you believe I relaxed instead of shooting?

Published February 6, 2012 Photography , Travels 5 Comments

I hardly used the big camera on my trip – somehow walking around with 20 lbs of equipment in the caribbean didn’t seem as much of a groovy idea as it normally does. I think it’s because I was in tourist town, so there wasn’t much chance of wildlife. However I did manage a few shots that I was really proud of, and here they are!

I came back to a real storm at the office so postings have been thin and few, for which I apologize. I’ve got great things that I can post about soon though, including a new knitting pattern and jewellery made from hyacinth petals :)

Princess Cruise

Published February 1, 2012 Photography , Travels Leave a Comment
Tags: colours, cruise, photography, princess Ruby, travel, vacation

Last week my parents, Tito and I went on a family vacation – on the Ruby Princess for a week in the caribbean. It was mom’s call to do a cruise, and I never thought I would enjoy it. I love to backpack and I was worried that a cruise would be restrictive, crowded and boring. I couldn’t have been more wrong!

This boat had everything. Movie theatres, heated pools, a library, an art gallery, live performance venues, a spa, a gym, a bunch of restaurant and nightclub options, a few different bars, and even minigolf, (though I bet that would be frustrating, on a ship). There were 5000 folks or so on this boat with us and not once did we have to line up to get on or off the boat, to eat or to be served. No matter what kind of traveller you are, it’s hard not to enjoy being pampered so thoroughly. No matter what you like to do; quiet time with a book or mega party in the pool, this ship accommodates it.

My parents had so much fun that they’re already planning their next cruise. I think they’ve got the bug ;) This is my number one favourite pic of the vacation – they look so happy here, I love it!

Tito and I will be doing another one for sure as well – I think this is a great way to see places that otherwise might not be as easy to access – like Alaska. From a ship you can appreciate the beauty of glaciers and the arctic ocean – something I have always wanted to photograph. Not to mention northern lights….

We booked with Princess Cruises, and our ship was the Ruby Princess. Think of a hotel where everyone is positive and helpful, all the food is included, everyone is attending to your every tiny need and you wake up every day in a different paradise. Then you can really understand the appeal of cruising. We paid only for alcohol, shore activities, shopping and soda. We were amazed at how affordable the trip ended up being, for such a great and varied experience.

The gorgeous scenery inspired me to start putting colour pallets together again – not just for jewellery but (shhh!) I’m thinking of taking another crack at dying yarn! I’ll definitely post about my experiments, be they Kool-Aid or food colouring, or maybe I’ll brave the powdered dye kit I bought at the KW Fair 2 years ago….

The caribbean certainly offers no end of inspiration. Tomorrow I’ll share some of the wildlife we caught, on land and in the sea!

I’m going to the caribbean, but first I’ve got to find Northern Lights.

Published January 30, 2012 Photography , Travels Leave a Comment
Tags: Cheltenham badlands, photography, travel

Says a tired Tito to his friends. As if being tied to an insane photographer isn’t the best life ever! Well, I guess I can understand not wanting to drive up north, late at night, the same night that you’ve got a red-eye flight to Florida. pbbbtttthhhh.

We didn’t find them that night, but we did get some great shots nonetheless. We ended up driving to the Cheltenham Badlands for some midnight shooting.

Apparently poor farming practices have led to the incredible erosion that you see here. It forms a beautiful landscape, especially covered in snow.

These are the badlands as I shot them last October. You can really see the amount of iron in the soil, causing the intense reddish colour.

Lots of hiking trails lead in and out of the area, and it’s close to the beautiful Terra Cotta Conservation area.

We shot til a few hours before mom and dad came to pick up at 3 am ;) Then, less than 24 hours later, I was here:

But that is a post for tomorrow ;)

Bay of Fundy Scarf – Free Pattern!

Published December 2, 2011 Knitting , Travels 4 Comments
Tags: Bay of Fundy, free pattern, knitting, scarf

I finally got around to writing down the pattern for my Bay of Fundy scarf – a huge, soft, scarf/wrap that I whipped up on vacation while down east this autumn. Don’t be intimidated by the idea of a scarf on 3.5mm needles, the pattern is pretty mindless and easy (which is what made it a great vacation knit) and you’ll be done before you know it. If you choose the pattern can be easily adjusted to other yarns.

The pattern was inspired by the tides at the Bay of Fundy, as illustrated by my cheesy graphic: Go on and laugh, you know you want to.

It was the perfect solution for 2 skeins of TFA Purple label cashmere yarn. I was lucky enough to get my hands on 2 of her one-of-a-kind skeins at the knitters frolic this year but if you’re looking to match what I’ve done there is a colourway called, appropriately enough, Atlanic, which would do the trick nicely.